Once again, the Game Awards spoiled us for this 2021 edition. A ceremony marked by the crowning of independent games and many revelations that soon aroused the excitement of fans.
[Mis à jour le 10 décembre 2021 à 17h12] If the year 2021 was not a great vintage in terms of video games, apart from a few beautiful awarded releases, the year 2022 promises to be a little brighter. At least that’s what the Game Awards 2021 ceremony gave us hope for. Geoff Keighley’s event, nicknamed “the Oscars of video games”, drew all the attention this Thursday, December 9, both in rewarding the best titles of the year and revealing to us some major projects which will be released in 2022. Stars of the show, independent studios, winners in many categories, and two particularly crisp trailers. We summarize everything for you.
It Takes Two and Kena Bridge of Spirits win the day
The Game Awards night saw It Takes Two crowned with the coveted Game of the Year award. EA’s co-op game developed by Hazelight was also awarded in the categories of best multiplayer game and best family game. Kena Bridge of Spirits is not to be outdone, since the small independent game exclusively for Playstation was awarded as best independent game and best first production of an independent studio. 2021 has been a great year for small development studios, and it must also be said that the biggest licenses have rarely disappointed as much as in 2021, which in no way detracts from the merit of the Hazelight and Ember Labs teams. to name a few.
Among the other winners of the evening, we also find Deathloop, the creation of Arkane Lyon (cocorico) was also rewarded, logically winning the prizes for best achievement and best artistic direction. The big hit Forza Horizon 5 was also greeted at the ceremony, awarded for best audio design, best racing / sport game and best game in terms of innovation and accessibility. The PS5 exclusive Returnal was also honored with the award for best action game, while Age of Empires 4 was awarded the award for best simulation / strategy game.
Star Wars: Eclypse
This is probably the most unexpected announcement of this edition of the Game Awards. Star Wars fans will have the opportunity to discover a new game, Star Wars Eclypse, developed by none other than the French studio Quantic Dream (Detroit Become Human, Beyond Two Souls). The studio specializing in narrative experiences is getting down to the task of developing this action-adventure game that will take place in the universe created by George Lucas. We do not yet know much about this new title, presented by a rather impressive cinematic trailer, except that it will take place in the era of the Golden Age of the Jedi. There is also no doubt that it will be a completely new story impacted by the choices of the player.
Matrix Awakens
Between speculation and divination there is only one step, fortunately we already knew some of the studios which decided to present us some titles in parallel of the ceremony. This is particularly the case with The Matrix Awakens, the mysterious video game experience on Unreal Engine 5. Its presentation in a short trailer during the Game Awards did not completely lift the veil on the nature of this “demo” of Unreal Engine 5. We know that this is a demo on next-gen consoles, that it will include both narration and action, all carried by the impressive graphics engine from Epic Games.
Sonic Frontiers and Wonderwoman
The blue hedgehog will also have the right to his game in the open world. Sonic Frontiers was presented to us for a few minutes during the Game Awards, showing us above all landscapes highlighting his universe and its open-world side. We expect a lot from this experience that we already qualify as Breath of the Wild-like. Warner Bros Games is also beginning to weigh its weight on the gaming scene, by presenting Wonderwoman through a cinematic trailer. We don’t know much about this release but we know the studio behind its development: Monolith (Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War).
Alan wake 2
It was one of the most anticipated announcements of these Game Awards. Alan Wake is back for a second opus more terrifying than ever. The game, developed by Remedy Entertainment, will be the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling author’s horrific adventures. The game is scheduled for 2023, more than eleven years after the release of the first installment. Following a recently announced remaster, this sequel announcement was almost unexpected to fans, great news for fans of this sinister and complex action-adventure game.
Warhammer 40K Spacemarine 2, Dying Light 2 and Suicide Squad
What better way to present a Warhammer game than a cutscene? Spacemarine 2 arrived like a cannon shot at these Game Awards, like the finesse of a Spacemarine entry on a battlefield. The second installment of Ultramarine Titus’ warlike adventures will see him grapple with the Imperium’s most dangerous enemy: the Tyrannids, ten years after his battles against the Orcs and Chaos. An output that we expect exclusively on PS5. We were also able to see images of the highly anticipated Dying Light 2 with a nice trailer, which shows us the extent of the dramatic potential of this sequel postponed to February 2022. For fans of the DC universe, we finally had news of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game from Warner Games and Rocksteady showed itself through an explosive gameplay trailer, presenting us an action game where we play the losers of the Suicide Squad (Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, Deadshot and King Shark) against a well-known foe, Brainiac and his unwitting ally, Flash. A fun and dynamic role reversal whose release is scheduled for next-gen in 2022.
Game of the year
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Best achievement
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Returnal
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Better narration
- Deathloop
- It Takes Two
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Psychonauts 2
Best artistic direction
- The Artful Escape
- Deathloop
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Best Original Soundtrack
- The Artful Escape
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deathloop
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139….
Best audio design
- Deathloop
- Forza Horizon 5
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
Best performance
- Erika Mori (Alex Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors)
- Giancarlo Esposito (Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6)
- Jason Kelley (Colt Vahn in Deathloop)
- Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village)
- Ozioma Akagha (Julianna Blake in Deathloop)
Most impactful game
- Before Your Eyes
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Life is Strange: True Colors
- No Longer Home
Best ever evolving game
- Apex Legends
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact
- Call of Duty: Warzone
Best Indie Game
- 12 minutes
- Death’s Door
- Inscryption
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Loop Hero
Best mobile game
- Fantasian
- Genshin Impact
- League of Legends : Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokémon Unite
Better community support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV Online
- Fortnite
- No Man’s Sky
Innovation in accessibility
- Far cry 6
- Forza Horizon 5
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
Best VR / AR Game
- Hitman 3
- I Expect You To Die 2
- Lone Echo II
- Resident Evil 4
- Sniper Elite VR
Best action game
- Back 4 Blood
- Chivalry II
- Deathloop
- Far cry 6
- Returnal
Best action adventure game
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Metroid Dread
- Ratchet & Clanck: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
Best role-playing game
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Monster hunter rise
- Scarlet nexus
- Shin Megami Tensei V
- Tales of Arise
Best fighting game
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles
- Guilty Gear Strive
- Melty Blood: Lumina Type
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown
Best family game
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- New Pokémon Snap
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Warioware: Get it Together!
Best simulation / strategy game
- Age of Empires IV
- Evil Genius 2: World Domination
- Humankind
- Inscryption
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
Best sports / racing game
- F1 2021
- FIFA 22
- Forza Horizon 5
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Riders Republic
Best Multiplayer Game
- Back 4 Blood
- Knockout City
- It Takes Two
- Monster hunter rise
- New World
- Valheim
Content Creator of the Year
- Clay “Dream”
- Leslie “Fuslie” Ann Fu
- Alexandre “gAuLeS” Borba Chiqueta
- Ibai “Ibai” Llanos Garatea
- David “TheGrefg” Canovas Martinez
Best First Indie Game
- The Artful Escape
- The Forgotten City
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Sand
- Valheim
Most anticipated game
- Elden ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild 2
- Starfield
Best esports game (sponsored by GrubHub)
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Valuing
Best Professional eSport Player
- Chris “Simp” Lehr (Atlanta FaZe, CoD)
- Heo “Showmaker” Su (DWG KIA, LoL)
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov (Team Spirit, Dota 2)
- Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS: GO)
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo (Sentinels, Valorant)
Best eSport team
- Atlanta Faze (CoD)
- DWG KIA (LoL)
- Natus Vincere (CS: GO)
- Sentinels (Valorant)
- Team Spirit (Dota 2)
Best eSport coach
- Airat “Silent” Gaziev (Team Spirit, Dota 2)
- Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov (Gambit Esports, Valorant)
- Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS: GO)
- James “Crowder” Crowder (Atlanta FaZe, CoD)
- Kim “Kkoma” Jeong-Gyun (DWG KIA, LoL)
Best eSport event
- 2021 League of Legends World Championship
- The International 2021
- PGL Major Stockholm 2021
- PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
- Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters